re: Opinions form 6.5 Creedmoor whitetail hunters (others opinions welcomed)

Just get a .308!

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whitetail at 60 yards with a Berger pushing 3200fps

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There's such a thing as "too fast" when it comes to hunting bullets. I suspect had that deer been hit between 200-300 yards, he would've had a much better result.

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He’s convinced that his custom built 3500$ rifle needs some new bullets for deer hunting at close range..

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He does...and a 30-30 to shoot them out of at that range.

If you are not getting exits with a 6.5 on deer you need to switch bullets.

Non-bonded cup and core bullets in the 140's, and bonded for 155-160.

I shot a buck a few weeks ago with 139gr PPU soft points at 50 yards almost head on and found the bullet under the off side skin after going nearly coast to coast at close range. That's the kind of performance you should be getting. Thats the first 6.5 bullet I've ever recovered out of several dozen deer. At those ranges you should be getting near 100% exits on deer.

I may switch to the 143 eld-x, but I've read that those tend not to expand at close distances.

Nothing. It has a cooler name and its "in" as the premier long range caliber. I hate it with a passion. I've hunted with a 6.5x55 my whole life and have heard all kinds of shite about (to quote one of my friends) "that old screwed up weak military rifle." Same guy loves the creedmore, which doesn't do anything the swede cant do better except fit in a .308 action when loaded to max OAL. It aggravates me because the raging success of the creedmore is leading to them having some excellent ammo selection, while the swede is losing the heavy bullet offerings in favor of lighter stuff to simplify product lines to align with the creedmore.

It's an inferior deer round to all of those you listed outside of some very specific instances if youre just looking at numbers. Its plenty good enough though and does offer some good qualities like low recoil and good penetration with heavier bullets.

It does duplicate a few long existing rounds that have less cool names. The swede and .260 rem are the closest ones. They're names are way less cool though

Disclaimer: I don't own a 6.5 CM and I've never shot one, but I have killed >30 head of game w/ a 6.5 JDJ Contender handgun and 3 whitetail deer w/ a Remington XP-100 handgun in 260 Remington. I killed one deer w/ a 100 gr Nosler Ballistic Tip (NBT); everything else has been w/ 120 grain bullets: NBT's, Remington PSP, Speer Hotcor and Sierra spire point. Downshift has a long history of killing deer w/ the 6.5 Swede using heavier bullets that I can't equal. He's right in that the Swede built an enviable reputation using heavier bullets to kill deer. However, properly constructed lighter bullets will also kill deer quite well. Bullet performance is all about using the proper bullet at the proper velocity. All my handgun deer kills have been one shot kills; when properly hit, none were lost. At typical CM muzzle velocities w/ 120 grain bullets conventional bullets should perform fine w/ full penetration, just like the Swede and 260 Rem. The CM, Swede and 260 are ballistic triplicates and will perform the same using the same bullet at the same velocity. Pushing the muzzle velocity higher will increase the risk of the bullet becoming to fragile. I'm not as sure of performance regarding newer bullets since there's not the same decades long track record for them as there has been w/ the conventional (and 125 gr Partition and 130 grain Nosler Accubond) bullets. I've not killed anything w/ the 129 gr bullet, but it should do well also. Next year I'm gong to deer hunt w/ the XP using 125 gr Nosler Partitions. I'm hoping to use the 130 gr NAB down the road, as well.

I've found the bullet evaluations at this site very useful.

My problem with it is that identical performance has been available for decades. People didn't shoot the .260 because it didnt have enough horsepower, it was a kids round, etc. People didnt shoot the Swede because it's old and no way it can actually perform.

The creedmore comes along and is marketed as a 1000 yard death ray with a cool name and now everybody's got one because this new shite is incredible, but we cant figure out why it doesnt magically zap the life from deer.

It's a 260 with a different shoulder location and a cooler name

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The creedmore comes along and is marketed as a 1000 yard death ray with a cool name and now everybody's got one because this new shite is incredible, but we cant figure out why it doesnt magically zap the life from deer.

It's a 260 with a different shoulder location and a cooler name

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This I understand.



I have always shot a 30/06 and wanted to try something with less recoil for a little while now.

I was on the fence about getting a 308 or 6.5 CM (because of the cool name and current popularity).

Found myself in a gun store on January, 1st and they had the rifle I had been eyeing up for a while in stock in the 6.5 so I pulled the trigger (pun intended). I planned on shooting the 129gr. Hornady soft points but figured I’d ask if others thought the weight was to light.

I personally don’t understand why most of us men seem to think we need 150+gr. Bullets out of a 30/06, 300win mag, 7mm mag. when we let our children shoot deer with 100gr. 243’s.

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Buddy of mine built a 6.5prc to go elk hunting and let his wife shoot a whitetail at 60 yards with a Berger pushing 3200fps. Deer ran 100 yards bullet fragmented into at least 16 pieces so he claimed and turned the Insides into “jello” but hardly left a drop of blood!!!

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The important thing about bullets is using the proper bullet at the proper velocity on the proper game w/ the proper shot. For example, Nosler Ballistic Tips work wonderfully well w/ the hunting handguns I use, running them at decreased velocities, compared to rifles. OTOH, we've all heard horror stories of deer "running off" when shot w/ NBT's at close range, especially if heavy bones are encountered. In hunting bullets, generally increased velocity----->increased expansion------>decreased penetration. If she was shooting a thin jacketed Berger bullet at high velocity and close range that hit heavy bone, I'd expect what you described to happen.

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He’s convinced that his custom built 3500$ rifle needs some new bullets for deer hunting at close range..
I would get some bonded or solids to cover my bases

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If I were building a gun for elk hunting, a 6.5 of any variety would not be my first, second or third choice. IF he chooses to elk hunt w/ the 6.5 PRC, I'd use the heaviest bonded/solid bullet that gives adequate trajectory. For deer hunting w/ his PRC, I'd use a 140 gr Nosler Partition and be done w/ the worrying.